Upstate New York: the familiar and not so familiar

Yesterday seemed like a long day although it really was not. It was advertised as a 68 mile day (my Garmin recorded 70) with only moderate climbing - again the Garmin recorded a little over 3000 feet. However, we were given a sleep-in until 6:30 with and 8:00 start. The day was hot and humid (one of the Brits asked me at dinner last night to define the difference between 'humid' and 'muggy' - huh?) and that necessitated a couple of extra stops for cold chocolate milk and later for a root beer float - all prime fuel for cyclists. So last night I did, ate dinner, and went to bed - done for the day.
Yesterdays route from the Finger Lakes to Liverpool (suburb of Syracuse) was a good one in spite of the heat. We went through a number of old, historic New York towns, many of which I had gone through with the Anchor House rides a few years ago. Geneva is a pretty little town, home to Hobart and Smith colleges, Waterloo where Memorial Day was started after the Civil War, and Seneca Falls which in the late 1800s was the birthplace of the drive for women's right to vote and women's rights in general. Geneva also offered a lovely long ride down the east side of Seneca Lake, another of the Finger lakes. We were heading for the town of Camillus and the first view of the Erie Canal which, of course was the cause and source of much prosperity and development in years gone by.
And one other highlight for all of us - we passed our 3000 mile mark for the trip and so had the appropriate photos to save the moment.
This morning was back to regular wake-up and leaving at 7:00. The first bank we passed showed the temperature at 87 degrees - what does that tell you about the rest of the day? We navigated our way around Syracuse and were pretty much out in the country again at about the 15 mile point. Much of today's route took us past the Erie Canal and some of the park system they have built around it. We passed through the little town of Canastota with it's historic buildings fronting some of the restored canal and then rode alongside the canal for many miles. Although it was hot and muggy all day the New York state roads for the most part are fantastic. And today was as good as we have had anywhere: lots of newly pave, very smooth surfaces and wide shoulders - nice. And to make the day even better we had only 2100 feet of climbing today. I rode with two different groups today but all were excellent riders and we did a good strong pace.
One picture will show what is billed as the world's smallest church and is on the edge of one of the many small towns we went through. I know there are a number of other claimants to this title (we saw one in South Carolina a couple of years ago) but it claims to be available for weddings although I don't know how one would get through all the pond scum to get out there.
Tonight we are in Little Falls, a town that appears to be an old mill town that is somehow hanging on by it's fingernails. The temperature was supposedly 101 when we got here. After a quick shower we wandered down to the little touristy area at the riverfront and found a delightful ice cream shop - a hot fudge sundae after a 79 mile jaunt in the sun - life is good!